Hood latch



March 12, 1940.

A. E. PETERSON HOOD LATCH Filed July 9, 1938 5 Sheets-Sheet 1 March 12,1940. PETERSON 2,193,111

noon LATCH Filed July 9, 1958 5 Sheets-Sheet 2 5 Sheets-Sheet 3 A. E.PETERSON HOOD LATCH Filed July 9, 1.938

March 12, 1940.

March 12, 1940. PETERSON 2,193,111

HOOD LATCH Filed July 9, 1938 5 Sheets-Sheet 4 'lli March 12, 1940.PETERSON 2,193,111

HOOD LATCH Filed July 9, 1938 5 Sheets-Sheet 5 flfiarieqya Patented Mar.12, 1940 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE HOOD LATCH Arthur E. Peteraon,Chicago, 11L, aaaignor to Chlcago Forging & Manufacturing 00., Chicago,III., a corporation of Illinois Application July 9, 1938, Serial No.218,374

2 Claims. (01.292-214) My invention relates to improvements inautomobile hood latches and especially to that type of hood latch whichis used in connection with automobile hoods wherein the upper portion ofthe hood only is raised and wherein the hood is pivoted at the front endof the vehicle.

One object of the invention is to provide a single hood latch which willtighten both sides of a hood.

Another object is to provide a hood latch which will when the latch isdisengaged initially start the opening movement of the hood.

Another object is to provide a hood latch wherein the latch controllinglever forms a part of the decorative aspect of the car, for instance,

being substituted for the well-known type of radiator emblem.

Another object of the invention is to provide means whereby the hood maybe latched from inside the car so that when the vehicle is locked, noaccess to the engine is possible.

Other objects will appear from time to time throughout the specificationand claims.

My invention is illustrated more or less diagrammatically in theaccompanying drawings, wherein- Figure 1 is a longitudinal sectionshowing the hood closed;

Figure 2 is a detail section showing the hood in the partially raisedposition;

Figure 3 is a section along the line 3-3 oi Figure 1;

Figure 4 is a plan view with parts broken away;

Figure 5 is an enlarged. section taken at line 5-5 of Figure 1; c

Figure 6 is a longitudinal section through a modified form of the deviceshowing the hood closed;

Figure 7 is a detail section similar to Figure 6 showing the hoodpartially open;

Figure 8 is a section similar to Figure 6 showing the hood in the fullyopen position; and

Figure 9 is a plan view.

Like parts are indicated by like characters throughout the specificationand drawings.

l is the engine hood. 2, 2 are the side members and 3 is the frontmember of the engine housing. The hood is pivoted at its front end Iries a crank II', the crank being associated with a connecting rod l2,which rod is attached to a latch crank I! which is rotatably mounted on10 a cross bar H by means of bearings IS. The latch crank terminates ateach end in latch members l6, one at each side of the hood, the crankextending perpendicularly of the hood and across the axis of the body.

I1, I! are latch brackets. In this case, they are on the vehicle dashthough they might, of course, be mounted on the side panels 2, ifdesired. The latch brackets I! are identical and one is associated witheach of the latch members It. These latch brackets comprise preferablytwo parallel arms i8, i9, both forwardly and downwardly inclined, theupper arm It being shorter than the arm I9. The relationship 01' theparts is such that when the hand lever 9 is moved to the latchdisengaging P sition, the latch members it are rotated down into agenerally vertical position, their downward movement being limited bytheir engagement with the cross bar It, and more positively by the stopsI40 and Ill which limit the motion of the crank II by engagement withthe extension I42 on the crank i'l.- It will be understood here, as inconnection with the other modified form, that in the locking positionthe crank is moved slightly beyond dead center so that the tension inthe rod l2 holds the member I42 against the stop Ill to preventunlockmg.

Under these circumstances, the latch members rest upon the lower latcharms l9 and hold the rear end of the hood slightly above its normal p0-sition. When the hand lever 9 is rotated toward the locking position,the latch members are rotated toward the rear and upwardly to bring themunder the upper shorter latch brackets i8 whereby they lock the hood inclosed position. Upon opening the hood opposite movement takes place andat first the movement of the hand lever releases the latch, then furthermovement raises the rear end of the hood so that the operator can go tothe rear end, gethis fingers beneath it and lift it up.

In the modified form shown in Figures 6 to 9 inclusive, 25 is the enginehousing. In this case, it is shown as a one-piece structure comprisingtwo diagonal side panels with a curved portion joining them, which maybe a radiator grill.

' These side members immediately behind the curved portion arereinforced and joined by a cross member 26, upon which is a bracket 21,on which is pivoted a hinge member 38, on the front end of the hood 29,in order that when the hood is closed it may present an unobstructedsmooth surface, and in order to permit pivoting of the upper part oi thehood on the lower. The bracket 21 carries a-flxed pin 3", which travelsin a slot 29l in the hinge member 23. A spring 30, anchored at one endon the pin 390, and at the other end on a stirrup 3|, extendingrearwardly from the hinge member 28, in part supports the weight of theforward end of the hood, and when the hood is lifted from its partiallyopen position, as shown in Figure 7, as it rotates the forward endslides forwardly under the influence of the spring to raise the frontendof the hood above and move it forwardly in front of the remainder ofthe body, whereby upward rotation of the hood may take place withoutinterference.

32 is a toggle structure pivoted at one end on a cross bar 33, extendingacross the hood at its rear end. The other end of the toggle structureis pivoted to the dash 34. This toggle structure is free to be swungslightly off center to lock the hood in position. 35, 35 are latchbrackets on the cross bar 33, one at each side.. These latch bracketsare made up of two generally parallel elements 36, 31, the upper one 35being longer than the lower one 31. 38 is a latch crank mounted inbearings 39 on the dash of the vehicle and having latch members 40 ateach end adapted to engage the latch brackets 33, 31, in the samegeneral manner as in the preferred form", except that the parts arereversed.

4| is the actuating crank portion of the latch bar. It is operated bymeans of a connecting rod 42 from a hand lever 43, pivoted on a bracket44, in the dash on the drivers compartment. When the hand lever 43 is inthe rearmost position, it rotates the cranks downwardly to lock the hoodin position. When it is pushed forwardly, it first releases the latchand then applies pressure to the upper longer latch engaging portion toraise the hood slightly so that the operator may first release thelatch, then raise the hood, then get out of the car and raise the hoodthe rest of the way. By this arrangement, of course, the operator isassured that when the hood is locked and the car is locked, access tothe engine is prevented.

It will be understood that the handle 43 can be positioned above itspivot and that in such event it is moved down instead of up towardthelocking position.

Two of the bearings 39 are contained within a housing 45, which isbolted to the dash 34. The housing has a curved forward extension 45, sothat the crank 4i and the connecting rod 52 may operate within thehousing, the latch crank 38 extending out through the bearings 39. Thesebearings are of course generally tight and so that the housing iseffectively sealed to prevent the entrance to the drivers compartment ofair or gas from the engine compartment, without in any way interferingwith the operation of the hood latch from the engine compartment.

The use and operation of my invention are as follows:

Because of the fact that modern hoods enclosing automobile engines nowin many instances are hinged above the engine and on axes perpendicularto the axis of the automobile and so are stiffer and more rigid thanthose of the past,-it has become of the utmost importance to so mountthe hood that it will be held in the closed position in rigid lockedrelationship with the remainder of the housing. Therefore, the hoodwhich I have designed is, so to speak, a three-point supported hood. Itis pivoted at the front end and adapted to move up and down about thatpivot. It is locked at the rear end at two widely spaced points onopposite sides of the vehicle body so that a three-point support or lookis provided, which insures that the hood will be positively and firmlyseated.

In the two forms I have here illustrated, the hood is locked by manuallyoperated means, in one instance at the front of the hood adjacent thepivot, and in the other instance at the rear end of the hood but insidethe vehicle body. In either case, the operator is located when hemanipulates the look at a position where he can not efl'ectively openthe hood by using the looking means as a hood opening handle. Therefore,I have associated with the locking means automatic wedging or cammingmeans which initially open the hood and hold it open so that theoperator, after he has unlatched the hood can go to a point where he canput his fingers under the edge of the hood, while it is held open, andso lift it finally to the open position.

The arrangement whereby a single control member operates the latch onboth sides of the vehicle body is of the utmost importance because, bysuch an arrangement, only one manipulation is necessary and the operatordoes not have to go from. side to side of thevehicle to lock or unlockthe hood.

The form which shows the latch lever on the dashboard of the vehicle andextending into the drivers compartment with the latch crank on thedashboard inside the engine compartment is especially important becauseI have provided it with a seal comprising the housing containing thecrank and the bearings through which the crank ends extend so that thedrivers compartment is cut offirom the engine compartment and escape ofgas or air or dirt from the engine compartment into the driverscompartment is prevented.

In each form, the hood has downwardly extended portions which, when thehood is closed, are in parallelism with the housing upon which the hoodrests. In one instance the hood is hinged to the housing by means of anoff-set long hinge so that when the hood is opened, as shown in dottedlines in Figure 1, the forward edge of the hood rotates forwardly anddownwardly and clears the lower housing. In the form shown in Figures 8and following, however, the arrangement is different. The initialopening of the hood responsive to the unlatching, as illustrated inFigure '7, causes the hood to rotate about the pivot 290, imparting aslight rohave the same for movement about a transverse horizontal axisand in which the hood is provided with latch abutment means at its rearend, a generally horizontal, transverse latch crank shaft rotatably Vmounted on the automobile adjacent and forwardly of, and at the generallevel of the dash and instrument panel, an interior handle mounted onthe rear of the dash and located generally on the center line of thevehicle and including a hand portion located adjacent the instrumentpanel and within the driver's compartment, an actuating connectionbetween said handle and said shaft. extending through the dash, andmeans for preventing the escape of fumes from the space within the hoodto the space to the rear of the instrument panel, including a housing inwhich the latch crank shaft is journalled.

2. In a latch for automobile hoods or the like wherein the hood ispivoted at theiront end for movement about a transverse horizontal axisand in which the hood is provided with latch abutment means atits rearend, a generally horizontal, transverse latch crank shaft rotatablymounted on the automobile adjacent and forwardly of, and at the generallevel of the dash and instrument panel, an interior handle mounted onthe rear of the dash and located enerally on the center line of thevehicle and including a hand portion located adjacent the instrumentpanel and within the drivers compartment, and an actuating connectionbetween said handle and said shaft, extending through the dash, meansfor preventing the escape of fumes from .the space within the hood tothe space to,

ARTHUR E. PETERSON.

